


Rainy Night Sonata

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Series: Second Chances [4]
Category: Hellboy (Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Music, Post-Golden Army
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 06:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11845695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: On a rainy evening in, Abe finds out that Nuala did in fact hear him sing a certain song that one time.





	Rainy Night Sonata

**Author's Note:**

> AU post-Golden Army, in which Nuada and Nuala are still alive.
> 
> I had the sad and sudden headcanon that Nuala did hear Abe sing before her brother showed up, but she never got the chance to tell Abe that.

Rain was falling outside in a heavy downpour; that's what Nuala had told him anyway. Abe couldn't hear the rain when he was in the water of his tank, but when he surfaced he could hear it falling onto the roof. Nuala had told him it had started while she was having tea with Liz, and the rain had not stopped since.

Abe didn't mind the rain too much. Rain was water, after all, and he liked the cool, soothing feeling of it against his skin. The noise of it, on the other hand, he was on the fence about. On one hand, it was admittedly some calming white noise, but on the other sometimes the sound tried to trick him into worrying that his tank had a crack in it.

Needless to say, he sometimes did worry.

"It looks fine to me." Nuala assured him as he paced in front of the tank and looked over the glass for the second time that night. "I don't see any water leaking or any cracks in the glass."

"Doesn't hurt to double check." Abe said, though Nuala was right. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the glass.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms around him; Nuala.

"It's just the noise of the rain outside." She whispered, soothingly.

"I know. Sometimes I confuse the sound, especially during a downpour. I actually like rain, when I'm not listening to it in there of course."

"Some Vivaldi to ease your mind?" She offered.

"Yes, please."

He'd shown Nuala how to work the stereo in case she ever wanted to listen to anything, although a lot of what Abe had for music was classical in nature. He had plenty of Vivaldi too, his favorite. Nuala didn't seem to mind his music, in fact she seemed to enjoy it.

Once it was on and the music was playing, Nuala returned to him, taking his hands. "Better?"

"A little; blocks out the noise of the rain." He replied, feeling a bit relaxed, both because of the music and the feel of her hands in his. "Thank you, even though it must seem like a silly thing."

"No, it's not." She assured him. "I can understand how you might mistake the sound. Speaking of sounds, you have an interesting taste in music. I do not have any music like this where I come from, and it's certainly different, but I like it."

"What kind of music have you heard?" Abe asked, curious.

"Where I come from, music is most commonly played during festivals; melodic and festive. There is singing and dancing; wine and the light of candles- I should take you to the next harvest festival."

"Would that be possible? I mean, I'm...not exactly..." He trailed off, not bothering to finish that sentence. He already knew how strange he looked to others.

"You would be my guest, as well as my lover; there's no need to worry." Nuala had a kind smile on her face, and Abe could sense reassurance from her, that he would have nothing to fear with her. He thanked her for that; she never saw him as something strange. "We can dance and sing-"

"I wouldn't be doing much singing actually. I'm not very good at it."

"But you are. I didn't know you could sing, but you are better than you think."

"What makes you say that?" He was slightly confused by what she had meant. He'd never sang in front of her before, but maybe she had just seen it in his memories at some point.

"I heard you before, back when I first came here." Nuala explained, still smiling, but looking as if she was recalling a pleasant memory. "It was faint, but I heard your voice floating through the air, but then you stopped... and then you were joined by another voice. I was still able to pick out yours."

"Oh. You mean..." Abe knew now exactly what she was talking about, how him and Hellboy had been singing in the library shortly before Nuada found them. Abe didn't realize Nuala had heard him. "You... You actually heard that?"

She nodded. "I did. I just never got a chance to tell you; I wish I had, because I like your voice."

A memory surfaced, but it was not his. It was one Nuala was showing him through their connection, able to do so through touch, by their hands still intertwined. He saw Nuala sitting on her bed, glancing around as she searched for the source of a noise, a voice. He saw her pause and then close her eyes and smile. He saw her ask herself, "Is that you, Abraham?"

The memory faded, and Abe knew that indeed she had heard him singing.

He let go of her hands, suddenly embarrassed by the fact that she'd heard him singing _that certain song_.

"I, um..." He looked away from her. "I didn't realize that my voice had carried so far."

Nether of them spoke for a moment, letting the sounds of Vivaldi continue to play, but then Nuala said, "For what it's worth, I liked hearing you sing. It was soothing, almost like a lullaby. I had been thinking about you then, and just hearing your voice- it was almost like you were singing to me."

Abe felt touched by her comments. He had never sung in front of anyone before, except when Hellboy had found him that night. That time though, when he had been alone in the library singing, he had been doing so because of Nuala, what he felt in his heart for her. He'd sung it for her.

"Technically, I was." Abe said, deciding to look back to her.

"You were?"

"I was trying to make sense of my feelings for you after you left the library, and that was my way of doing it. The song... it was a love song, and I had you in mind as I sang. I wanted to tell you so many things, but I could not think of how to go about it properly. You're a princess; far out of my league, and yet as I sang, I knew I was in love with you."

She blinked up at him, her golden eyes seeming even brighter. Her eyes were always so beautiful; he liked her eyes the most.

"Yet here we are. We found each other." Nuala remarked. "What is this song? The one you sang for me?"

"Can't Smile Without You. I'm aware of the cliché title."

"Will you sing it for me?"

Abe tilted his head. "Me?"

"Yes. I would like to hear it, if you don't mind."

Pretending to sing for Nuala was one thing, actually singing for her was another thing. However, she had already heard him once, and now that she mentioned the song, he supposed he would answer her request. He would be honored to sing it for her.

"For you."

Abe walked past her and over to the stereo to switch out the CD. When the new CD was in, he put on the eighth track, the one he had sang with her in mind. The last time he had played this song had been that night; the night he met Nuala.

He returned to her as it started up, extending his hand for her. "May I have this dance, Nuala?"

"It would be my pleasure." She replied, taking his hand.

Abe pulled her close, resting his free hand on her waist. He started to sing to her, thinking of that night; thinking of meeting her, being near her, what she meant to him. He remembered how he felt the last time he sang this, and now that it was for real, now that she was here with him, he felt like it was amplified. As he sang, he let everything he felt for her flow to her, letting her see it.  


_"I just can't smile  
_ _without you..."_

   
As Nuala rested her head against him, they continued their dance and Abe continued to sing to her, the both of them swaying slowly to the song and lost in the moment.

 


End file.
